1.1 Introduction
Chicken meat consumption remains high in the Nigeria, and consequently, annual chicken production has risen steadily over the years. Although most of the chicken meats available in the market are sourced from factory farms, there has been growing popularity of free-range chicken production, largely driven by its perceived health benefits and sanitation concerns in factory farms, among others. Chickens reared through the free-range method have more freedom to forage for themselves rather than be dependent on feeds, with consequent health benefits of having more crude protein and lower fat content than their commercial broiler counterparts (Sumague et al., 2016). These traits, among others, justify the premium price of free-ranged chickens (Fielding et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2017; Schoeters and Hoogenboom, 2006).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Poultry meat is an important source of protein due to its affordability. Trace metals are persistent in the environment and are subject to bioaccumulation in the food chain. Contaminated poultry feed can pose a risk to human health as it biomagnifies and bio-concentrates toxic metals up the food chain, which can enter the human body and cause adverse and toxic health effects. Protection Agency World Health Organization contains relatively more arsenic than deep well water (Rmalli et al., 2005). Hens raised with arsenic-rich drinking water and feed may accumulate it in their flesh, eggs, and excreta, which can cause contamination in poultry products (FAO, 2011). Essential metals such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and cobalt (Co) play an important role in the biological system. Cobalt is a core element of vitamin B (Rmalli et al., 2005), which is essential to human health. Exposure to naturally occurring levels of cobalt in the environment is not harmful, however when exposure is drastically increased, damaging health effects can occur.
There are few published studies on the contamination of poultry meat in Nigeria (Rahman et al., 2014; Mottalib et at., 2016; Ahmed et al., 2017). As part of our ongoing studies on toxic metal contamination in soil, vegetables, poultry and fish feed, the objective of the current study was to assess the concentration and distribution of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu and Ni in different types and parts of poultry.
In some cases, heavy metals and trace elements accumulate in chicken tissue contamination, e.g. with lead, was even associated with free-range chickens (Grace & MacFarlane, 2016; Yabe et al., 2013). These accumulated trace metals can then be passed on and in turn accumulate in animals on top of the food chain via bio-magnification, and potentially cause chronic toxicity and serious health effects in humans. Therefore, as a an important health concern, trace metal content in chicken meat and meat products derived from them have been investigated extensively in various countries (Hu et al., 2018; Yabe et al., 2013).
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to assess the trace metal contamination in chicken meat consumption.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that heavy metal toxicity is a major problem worldwide affecting both wild and captive avian populations, causing deaths in numerous bird species annually, resulting from the lack of baseline information of one species to another. However, the concentrations of heavy metals seem to vary among the species and thus, applying the reference range for them to the other species may be erroneous. Regarding chicken meat is a major source of protein to the population and is widely consumed in Malaysia and other countries of the world. Meat of chicken is a valuable food source rich in many of the essential nutrients including protein (essential amino acids), minerals (e.g., iron, zinc, selenium), vitamins (e.g., Vitamin E) and fat (essential fatty acids such as Omega 3 fatty acids) (Schonfeldt and Gibson, 2008).
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to assess the trace metal contamination in chicken meat consumption. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To investigate the relationships between the trace metal levels in chicken tissues
- To determine the trace metals ion concentration in tissues of chicken meat consumption
- To assess the concentration and distribution of metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) in different types and parts of chicken in markets
1.5 Significance of Study
This study will be of immense benefit to researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Assessment of Trace Metal Contamination in Chicken Meat Consumption.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection.
